AirSpaceMag.com

The Best of Bean

A collection of otherworldly paintings goes on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

By
The Editors

July 14, 2009

2 of 7

Are You Ready for Some Football?

(Courtesy Alan Bean)

2004, textured acrylic with moon dust on aircraft plywood

“While watching Alan Shepard hit golf balls on the moon,” Russo writes, “Bean asked Pete Conrad, ‘Why didn’t we think of something like that?’ After thinking a moment, Conrad said, ‘We don’t play golf.’ If they could do it all over again they would bring a football.

“The improbability of making a good throw or catch didn’t deter Bean from painting his fantasy—quarterback Conrad throwing ‘the bomb’ to Bean. And, had it been televised, Bean says, ‘Maybe they would have shown it during halftime at the Super Bowl!’”

“Humans will move into space and to the moon and Mars and other more distant planets," says Bean. "It will take time. It won’t be easy, but our descendants will go, and they will take things they enjoying doing with them.”